The Harsh Chamria Speech Examines Gaps in Microfinance

The Harsh Chamria speech on financial inclusion took place in a class for the Stanford Business School MBA candidate. Chamria examines an underfunded portion of small businesses and his vision to help them. This group are ninjas, which means they have no income, job or assets. Or in actuality, they do not have paperwork proving they do.

Chamria gives an extreme example of a friend of his in India who is a farmer. This friend was looking into purchasing high quality farm equipment, but did not quality for microfinancing as these organizations typically do not offer loans over $5,000 or $6,000. While banks and multinational corporations offer loans for much larger amounts, there is a middle ground that is unaccounted for.

The Harsh Chamria speech outlines his solution for the cost-effective delivery of affordable financial services to the poor, not just small businesses. This is relevant not just in developing or industrializing countries like India, but to those in the United States as well. According to Chamria, 30% of Americans have no savings account.